16vmarc

I crashed my car begining of last month on a roundabout. I was going straight on and the car on my left wa turning right. So my right of way. I got a witness who agreed it was my right of way. Both myself and the other driver said we were ok at the scene of the accident. My car went to the bodyshop the next day and i got a courtesy car. My insurers said they were holding the other driver at fault and they were yet to hear from them. I sent off my claim form and again my insurers were waiting to hear from them. Damage to my MY00 PPP consisted of light damage to offside wing headlight, foglight and surrounding bumper area, plus corner of bonnet. Im unsure as to the extent of the other car, altho it was a H reg Mazda 323 so not worth alot. My car is now back to how it was before the crash.
I received a letter tonight from her solicitors headed Personal Injury Claim. They say they are holding myself at fault and that it was clear that im at fault. They say if i dont fill in and return their form then they will start court proceedings.
I never took out legal protection with my insurance policy and as im a member of the Amicus union my dad suggested i contact them for legal help. Needless to say im not amused!!

StickyMicky

i hate all the crap that goes with crashing

sumbody once drove his van over my car while i was sitting in it

he then tried to claim i drove into him??
i was parked outside my mates house with the engine off and the keys removed, it took ages to sort that one out

NotoriousREV

It's the chav in the other car trying it on, I would take legal advice but I will tell you what happened to a mate of mine.

My mate, we'll call him Joe, was driving through a busy junction, that has a pub on each side of the road, the road is 4 lanes wide (due to filter lanes at the traffic lights). Both of the pubs have loads of people outside them during the summer months. Anyway, as Joe went through the traffic lights (which were on green) a guy darted out fro the crowd and Joe ran him over (no chance to react). Police called, agreed it was the pedestrians fault (due to roughly 100 eyewitnesses telling them that).

Over the next 4 years, the pedestrian tried it on with 5 different "no win, no fee" solicitors, Joe stuck to his guns that he wasn't at fault at all, eventually it went to court.

The judge decided that the pedestrian was completely at fault and was "as far from a credible plaintiff as it is possible to be".

The moral here is: if you beleive you're right, stick with it and you can't get tripped up on your story as long as it's the truth.

IWatkins

Has the other drivers insurance paid out ? If so, they have admitted liability I would have thought. If that is the case, throw the letter in the bin.

Ian

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

16vmarc

That is STANDARD PRACTICE by insurers upon receipt of a notification from their client that they were in an accident.

Don't do ANYTHING other than send it to YOUR insurers immediately & they will deal with it on your behalf.

At its cheapest, you have got 3rd party insurance which means that your insurers are responsible for dealing with any claims made against you - that includes costs, thats what you pay for.

Legal expense insurance is for you claiming off the other party.



As I said, do nothing but forward the letter unanswered to your insurers to deal with on your behalf. Do not worrry yourself.

scoobybitch

My dad crashed into the back of somebody at a roundabout once, it was her fault as she'd committed herself to entering the roundabout but decided to slam on as a bike came round (big roundabout with trees in the middle) Not much damage to the cars, just broken lights, dad wasn't arsed cos he was in an old Volvo 440 both parties agreed everything was ok and went on about their business. Dad went back later on with a camera and took pictures of the glass on the road just in case because this would show that she had stopped on the roundabout. The b*tch then tried to claim whiplash, extensive damage to car etc. It was only the photos that sorted it out. He always keeps a disposable camera in the glovebox now just in case.

jbryant

Second the disposable camera idea. Been carrying one for several years now. Try and keep it in the sealed package which will help protect the film while in the continual heat/cold of the glovebox

Joolz

16vmarc

Even i though i dont have legal protection??

ScoobyDriverWannabe

Sign all your assets over too me including house car etc and declare your self bankrupt

Then when you go court they will see you dont have 2 pennies to scratch your ***** with so theyl take pitty on u.

Meanwile il be thrashing the **** of your scoob taking good care of it, for a year or so for you

Tentenths

Couldn't have put it better than Puff already has... it is vital that you do exactly as he suggests i.e. forward the solicitor's letter directly to your insurers immediately.

Do not, under any circumstances, write to the solicitors yourself attempting to answer/counter the accusations (no matter how incensed you feel!) or even acknowledge receipt.

In short, don't worry about it - your insurers will deal with everything on your behalf.

HTH

NB If you haven't already told your insurers that, at the time of the accident, the other party confirmed that he/she was not injured, do mention it in your covering letter.

Tentenths

Yes.

In this context, legal expenses/protection would only be relevant if it was you that had sustained the "injury" and wanted/needed to sue the other driver.

If a motorist is sued for a personal injury claim it is his/her motor insurers that will defend the action (and meet the costs). If the claim is successful, then the insurers will also meet the cost of any damages that are awarded.

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

Question for you Marc

What are you being insured against when you purchase insurance?



Answer - You are being insured against OTHER PARTIES making a claim against you for loss or damage caused by your actions. It is an insurance policy. The insurers assess the risk you as a citizen pose to their profitability and charge you accordingly based on that probability. They then trust that you are the super driver you say you are and that you don't have an accident.

If you do have an accident, then they have lost on their bet and foot the bill. The minimum that the law in this country allows for is Act insurance, which is 3rd party insurance, so if you drive into/over someone & its your fault, then they are able to claim off your insurer. Bear in mind that your accident might leave a 16yr old child prodigy as a cerebrally damaged paraplegic who will require 24/7 care for the rest of his life - that claim is worth millions & is likely to have a 4-5 yr law battle (costs). You can't be expected to pay for that - thats what your insurance is for.

Legal expense insurance is essentially (better description this) for assisting you in claiming your uninsured losses off a 3rd party. By this I mean the costs of your claim that are not covered by your insurers - hire car, days off work, loss of amenity etc. Mainly used for tangible & non-tangible material items.

However, if you have a personal injury, then go to a Personal Injury specialist solicitor and they will sign you up to a no win no fee agreement & will at the same time look after your other uninsured losses as described above.

HTH

Jap2Scrap

I'm assuming that the other insurers have paid out for the repairs and that by implication the other driver has admitted fault. I'm confused though because in the highway code (circa 1987 admittedly) it says that whoever's on the outside of a roundabout has right of way. I know this because I was asked the hypothetical question on my test, "If you're on a roundabout, nearest the centre and you reach the point at which you want to leave the roundabout and you see a vehicle approaching in the left lane, even if they have used the incorrect lane around the roundabout, who has right of way?" The answer is them. I said something to the effect that if I was using the correct lane and they were in the wrong lane I'd have right of way but I'd let them by to prevent an accident. this is technically the wrong answer though and the instructor told me to re-read my highway code.

Oh, I still passed... lol

wrxsmo

Just to echo what's been quite rightly said already ...

It's standard letter stuff dont worry, just send the letter to your insurer.

I would also enclose a note to your insurer stating that under no circumstance should they settle the third parties claim without your consent, this way you should obviously be kept aware of any intentions.

Chris

midget1500

you can probably find a thread on here by me which discussed the same thing that has happened to you. in my case it was total bolloxs and although the letter scared me i just ignored them and all went away. they just try it on - mine even asked for me to provide a settlement amount or something to that effect but didn't state an amount. give it to your insurers is good advice and be adament with them that you are not at fault and they should not pay out.

Lum

solicitors do try it on don't they?
I had a great one years ago. Standard crossroads-like roandabout, dual carriageway crosses a minor road (I think it was the second roundabout on St. Helen's Linkway if you've come from the M62 if anyone cares) I enter the roundabout in the right hand lane intending to take the second exit.

The minor road has two lanes at the point where it enters (1st exit, relative to where I entered from) and a large blue pick up truck is in the right hand lane. I get a bad feeling about this, ease off slightly and the pickup truck shoots past inches away from trking my front bumper off.

I continue towards my intended exit and a chav mother in a sierra (with 4 kids on the back seat and one in the front!) who was in the left hand lane of the minor road buries herself in my front wing having assumed it's safe to go because the pickup truck went, therefore looking is not required. (hint: If you must use the car to your right as a shield, at least keep up with the bloody thing)

Anyway, during the course of a claim, I get a letter with wording like "my client holds the driver of <my car> entirely at fault for the accident but in order to avoid costly legal action is prepared to accept 50/50 responsibility. I send it off to my insurer telling them no bloody way it was her fault and her solicitor gives in almost immediately.

I get the cost of my repairs and hire car sorted. My passenger took separate legal action against her and was limping around work for months, though the limp would change foot from time to time. I hate people who do that as they put your insurance up.

r32

My Daughter had a similar case, the people at fault go to one of these (or several one after the other until some on picks it up) no win no fee solicitors. They will chase anything. You sadly have to go to a good solicitor too. ....................

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/17.shtml#160

F

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

no, no you dont, you pass everything to your insurers as soon as is practicable.

fast bloke

as above - pass everything to your insurer and don't worry about it. They will foot the bill - this is exactly what the third party bit covers you against. If it comes to a court hearing they would usually provide solicitors/barristers of their own.

Unfortunately, in this case I don't think it will come to court. The two insurance companies will more than likely agree 50/50 liability, as you should both have been watching out for other vehicles - doesn't matter if you have 'right of way' when you are changing lanes or changing direction

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Agree. I had the same thing happen to me and it went 50/50 even though the other car was going 3/4 of the way round the roundabout in the left hand lane. They had already gone past 2 exits. cost me a fortune in the end.

Good luck.

Harry_Boy

Just to echo what has been said earlier by PTMW etc.

Pass the letter straight over to you insurers - they will deal with the case on your behalf. Do not respond to the third party's solicitors.

Your insurers have the right to take over the case and "assume your identity" from a legal perspective.

16vmarc

Phoned my union legal advice line and they told me to fill in the form i have received off her solicitors and send it back. I phoned Tesco and they have told me not to fill in the form and send it directly to them. They told me that they have already told the other insurers that they will be dealng with the claim and not to contact me. they are still waiting to hear from the other insurers as they are yet to decide what they are doing next.

Tentenths

Please DO NOT, under any circumstances, do what your Union's legal advice line has suggested. I'm afraid they've given you completely duff info (which in itself is very worrying!).

Just do exactly what Tescos [and everyone on here] has said - send the letter (and any other correspondence you receive subsequently) straight to your insurers.

ChrisB

To echo everyone else, Tesco handle this sort of thing day-in, day-out. Send it to them! Please!

OllyK

If his front hit her rear, it was his fault unless she happened to be reversing at the time. The onus is on the person behind to leave enough space to allow them to stop.

DJ140

Same happened to me and it was the other guy that ran the red light. The letter threatened that if I didn't reply they would go to court.

Sent to Direct Line and they handled it all.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

throw it in the bin, you have swapped insurance details so let the insurance company sort it out, plus if you have a witness to the accident who cares, its obvious this is another no win no fee claim, i had a similar thing 3 years ago and thought nothing of it until i started getting letters from another solicitor 6 months ago threatening to sue me if i didnt give them the name of the insurance company they must think im an idiot trying to threaten me, i got a few letter and a few phone calls but nothing registered post so i threw them all in the bin its just turned 3 years since the accident now so in the eyes of the law a claim cannot be made made PMSL he should of made more of an effort to claim when the accident 1st happened

16vmarc

My witness has refused to give a statement on the grounds that he is "too busy" to do so.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

always always carry a disposeable camera in your glove box if you do there will be no need to worry about witnesses as the camera never lies they have helped me a couple of time recently, as both peeps hit me and both tried to change there story after the scene but i had photo's to prove i was right